TYPHOON MANGKHUT, which will be locally named Ompong once it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), has intensified as it moves westward towards the northern part of the country. In its Sept. 11 update, weather bureau PAGASA said Ompong is expected to be within PAR by Wednesday afternoon and remain until Saturday. “The typhoon is threatening Northern Luzon and may traverse the Cagayan-Batanes area this Saturday. Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal (TCWS) # 1 may be raised as early as tomorrow evening (12 Sept.). The typhoon may strengthen the Southwest Monsoon bringing scattered light to moderate rains and thunderstorms over the Zamboanga Peninsula, Western Visayas and Palawan starting Thursday,” PAGASA said. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Spokesperson Edgar L. Posadas, in a press conference yesterday, said preparations by government agencies are underway for the potential impact of the typhoon.
AFP
THE REGIONS of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and the Cordillera Autonomous Region may suffer damages in 1.2-million hectares of rice and corn farms, with crops almost ready for harvest, when potentially super typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut) passes through the country, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol.
“An estimated 1.2-million hectares of farms planted to rice and corn which are about to be harvested may be affected if Typhoon Ompong continues on its course and slams into Northern Luzon by Thursday or Friday,” Mr. Piñol said a Facebook post Tuesday.
Mr. Piñol said that in a worst-case scenario, 893,000 hectares of rice farms may be damaged, which would cost P7-billion.
Moderate projection for rice crop losses amounts to P3.3-billion, he added.
Corn damages, meanwhile, could cost P4.2-billion to P6.2-billion with an estimated 483,000 hectares at risk.
“The DA (Department of Agriculture) Field Offices in the four regions have been advised to activate their disaster monitoring offices and operate on a 24-hour basis to monitor the effect of the typhoon. The regional offices were also directed to prepare food supplies to be distributed to affected farmers in the aftermath of the typhoon,” according to Mr. Piñol.
He noted that the threat from the typhoon reflects the vulnerability of the agriculture and fishery sectors to adverse climatic conditions as well as climate change.
In an interview after a Senate budget hearing, Mr. Piñol said that despite the potential damages, supply of food is not expected to be adversely affected, and price of rice can still be expected to stabilize by November.
“It will not really adversely affect the supply situation toward the end of the year…Kinakabahan nga ko na baka biglang bumagsak ang presyo ng palay kasi nagsabay ang [pagdating ng] imported sa anihan (I’m actually anxious that palay price might drop dramatically because imported rice would arrive simultaneous with the harvest period),” Mr. Piñol said.
“By stabilizing, I mean, (there would be no) upward movement (of) prices,” Mr. Piñol said.
The National Food Authority, meanwhile, said that it has at least 750,000 bags stored strategically in its different warehouses in Luzon, including the National Capital Region, for distribution through accredited retailers and for relief operations during calamities.
“While we are hoping that the typhoon will not reach our country, or not be as devastating as projected, we already instructed our field offices especially in Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon) and 5 (Bicol) that are projected to bear the brunt of typhoon Mangkhut, to protect our stocks, activate their operation centers, and be ready for possible relief operations during and after the typhoon,” NFA Administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino said in a statement.
“NFA has standing memorandum of agreements with relief agencies like DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), OCD (Office of Civil Defense), as well as LGUs (Local Government Units) allowing them to withdraw rice on credit from the food agency for their relief operation anytime during calamities and emergencies,” Mr. Aquino added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
THE TUMAGBOK Bridge in Miagao, Iloilo, which has been widened to four lanes from two at a cost of P200 million, will soon be fully opened to motorists, the Department of Public Works and Highways-Western Visayas-6 (DPWH) announced. “We are currently concreting the remaining two lanes of approaches on both sides of the bridge and when completed, we can fully open the bridge to the motorists and the general public,” DPWH-6 Regional Director Wenceslao M. Leaño, Jr., said in a statement. The bridge is part of the Iloilo-Antique Road, the main thoroughfare from Iloilo City to the southern part of Iloilo province and Antique. Miagao is home to the Santo Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and one of the main campuses of the University of the Philippines Visayas.
OFFICIALS OF the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Tagum City government met on Monday with residents who will be affected by the Mindanao Railway System (MRS), urging them to opt for a negotiated sale to get a higher price for their properties than when the government asserts the Doctrine of Expropriation. At the “stakeholders engagement,” Patmei B. Ruivivar, OIC-project manager for the MRS phase 1 covering the Tagum-Davao-Digos segment, explained that the DOTr has only until December this year to hold the funds needed for the negotiated sale for right of way and site acquisition. The MRS is targeted to begin construction by Jan. or Feb. 2019. The Tagum City government, in a statement, said 158 households will be affected. Mayor Allan L. Rellon, who is part of the project steering committee, asked for his constituents’ cooperation saying the government is working to ensure that the MRS implementation is “done in a manner that is more efficient, inclusive and transparent.”
DIGITAL VIDEO Discs (DVDs) containing pirated content, with an estimated value of P65 million, are up for destruction after these were seized in Davao City by law enforcers last week. City Police Director Alexander C. Tagum said they are awaiting instructions on the disposal process and at the same time preparing the criminal complaints against the owners of 20 stalls where these illegal products were being sold. Aside from the DVDs, the police also seized the equipment used in producing these. Mr. Tagum said the items need to be publicly destroyed “because we want to dismiss the doubt that maybe these will be recycled (sold in the city and other areas).” The Optical Media Act of 2003 prohibits the production and sale of pirated DVDs. — Carmelito Q. Francisco
MILITARY FORCES conducting operations to rescue the remaining kidnap victims of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the hinterlands of Sulu had an encounter with some 60 members of the bandit group early Monday, which left one ASG dead. Lt. Gen Arnel B. Dela Vega, commander of the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom), said the 21st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army exchanged fire with the ASG under Almujer Yadah and Idang Susukan in the mountainous village of Bungkaong. “This latest encounter only shows how persistent our forces are to track down the terrorist groups wherever they go to make sure that they are decimated and that remaining kidnap victims are also rescued,” Mr. Dela Vega said in a statement released late Monday. He said there was no casualty on the military side. WesMinCom records show that since January this year, 38 ASG members have been killed during encounters, 32 in Sulu and six from Basilan. The ASG is still holding at least 10 kidnapped foreigners and locals. Last May, the military leadership ordered WesMinCom to “wipe out” the ASG by end-2018. — Albert F. Arcilla
AN ASSOCIATION of employers said the economy is not yet in crisis due to high inflation but added that its main concern is the potential for wages to rise to an “excessive” degree.
In a statement on Monday, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) said the difficulties experienced by the Philippines are nowhere near Venezuelan levels, but “an abnormal and unfettered rise in prices could also hurt employment and economic development.”
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said inflation in August was 6.4%, up from 5.7% in July. The Philippines currently has the highest inflation rate in Southeast Asia.
ECoP added: “There is anxiety on the part of business that wage boards might even grant an excessive salary hike to show compassion to labor and shift the burden to employers.”
It said, “Business too is equally affected by the inflation arising from the high cost of production, and the wage boards must be cautioned in granting such a non-correctible salary hike.”
ECoP expects labor groups to file for large wage increases, and added: “Granting such a petition will hurt the very engine that fuels economic growth in this country and will not help the more than 2 million jobless, the self-employed and the under-employed.”
The Associated Labor Unions — Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) said earlier this month that the average daily minimum wage in the Philippines is P338, though buying power has been much eroded.
In June, TUCP party-list Representative Raymond C. Mendoza filed House Bill 7805 or “The Living Wage Act of 2018” which sought an across-the-board wage increase of P320 for all minimum wage earners in the private sector nationwide.
TUCP also filed a petition for a wage increase with the National Capital Region’s (NCR) Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB), which ECoP asked the wage board to dismiss.
The daily minimum wage for NCR is between P475 and P512. The region will mark the anniversary of its last wage action this month, paving the way for another order to be issued.
ECoP said interest rate hikes represent monetary policy levers resorted to by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) but dismissed interest rates as a driver of prices of key commodities.
“While BSP is implementing monetary measures to address inflation, the surging price of rice is a purely supply and logistics issue,” ECoP added.
ECoP asked the National Food Authority (NFA) to address rice supply issues, and called for the speedy passage of the rice tariffication bill to liberalize the importation process and increase supply.
ECoP added that the government needs to consider suspending automatic tax increases on petroleum products, a move which “will temper further increases in the cost of transport and power and most importantly, rein in inflation expectations.”— Gillian M. Cortez
THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry, Inc. is seeking a more liberalized importation scheme that would allow even domestic processors that use sugar as a raw material to bring in sugar at any time. — BW FILE PHOTO
THE business lobby said inflation can be kept in check with changes to agricultural policy, particularly with long-term reforms to address systemic production shortfalls in the sugar, rice and fishing industries.
“It’s not alarming in the sense that it’s obvious what is causing the problem. Rice, sugar, fish, vegetables, services and delivery, those are the factors driving prices… There are solutions for these things. The only thing out of our control is fuel,” Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry, Inc. (PCCI) treasurer and honorary chairman Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., said at a news press conference in Taguig City on Tuesday.
Also the president of Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., Mr. Ortiz-Luis said according to studies he has commissioned, an 8% inflation rate is still manageable.
Nevertheless, PCCI regrets the impact of inflation on consumers and advised the economic team to set a timetable for its eight-point action plan.
“There must have to be a timetable of implementing this action plan,” PCCI’s Agriculture Committee Chairman Roberto C. Amores said during the briefing, noting however that these are only for the short-term.
On sugar, Mr. Amores said that the group is seeking a more liberalized importation scheme that would allow even domestic processors that use sugar as a raw material to bring in sugar at any time.
Mr. Amores, also the president of the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Inc., said sugar shipments brought in by the government failed to resolve the price crunch as the imported sugar was resold at a price still unfavorable to food processors.
Sugar imports are restricted to international traders registered with the Sugar Regulatory Administration, usually those who have participated in the agency’s sugar export program.
PCCI proposes that domestic food processors directly import an initial amount sufficient to service the needs of 4,000 micro, small and medium-sized domestic food processors.
The PCCI also backs a more liberal rice import regime, in which tariffs will be levied on imports.
“The pending Rice Tarrification Bill in Congress is a welcome development that we support if it would mean helping stabilize the price of rice and ensure its sufficient stock, not to the detriment of our farmers,” Mr. Amores said.
In August, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 7735 or the Rice Tariffication bill.
For the fisheries sector, the PCCI is asking the Department of Agriculture to review the ban on the use of the modified Danish seine (MDS) method of fishing.
Mr. Amores said the ban has set back the fish supply by about two million kilos per day leading to “prohibitive” fish prices.
The government banned MDS due to the damage caused to sea grass and coral.
“It’s about time that our policy makers review and revise certain policies that are no longer contributing to the agenda of government,” Mr. Amores said. — Janina C. Lim
THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the national rice inventory was 1,520.76 thousand metric tons at the start of August, down 25.01% from a year earlier and down 23.61% from a month earlier.
The PSA said on a year-on-year basis rice inventories declined across the board, including a 0.26% drop in stocks held by households, a 42.51% decline in commercial inventories, and a 6.94% drop in rice held by the National Food Authority (NFA).
On a month-on-month basis, household rice stocks fell 24.79% and commercial holdings declined 28.77%. NFA inventories were up 100%.
PSA said rice held by households accounted for 49.08% of the national total, while commercial warehouses held 44.27%, and the NFA 6.65%.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said high prices of commercial rice were caused by a delay in the procurement of rice by the NFA. The depletion of NFA inventories helped drive low-cost rice off the market, emboldening commercial dealers to raise prices and creating a political crisis for the government, because the NFA is expected to service the food requirements of the poor.
“We had a request to import as early as October last year, but this was not approved, which is why NFA rice disappeared from the market,” Mr. Piñol said.
He also expects the supply of rice to be tight next year with China projected to import 5% of its requirements.
Corn stocks rose 75.45% year-on-year to 1,221.91 thousand MT at the start of August, the PSA said.
Driving the increase was the 89.44% increase in inventory held by commercial warehouses, which offset the 15.9% decline in corn held by households.
Month-on-month, corn stocks held by households rose 16.51% and tripled in commercial warehouses. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it expects a system of price caps imposed on key goods to worsen shortages in the market.
“We appreciate all these suggestion by Senator (Cynthia A.) Villar. So we considered and we studied it… however, when we were looking into the situation, we considered the possibility of worsening the shortages, which has happened in previous administrations,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a television interview on ANC Tuesday.
“Goods could disappear from the markets. The situation has to be addressed by expanding supply,” he added.
Mr. Lopez said in a mobile message that price caps discourage producers from delivering goods if they run the risk of losing money due to price restrictions.
Republic Act No. 7581, or the Price Act of 1992, authorizes the government to cap prices on “any basic necessity or prime commodity” sold to the public in case of calamities, emergencies, or a finding of “artificial or unreasonable” price increases.
Such interventions in price-setting can be ordered by the president, upon the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council.
Mr. Lopez, nevertheless, said the DTI’s suggested retail price (SRP) scheme is largely being observed.
The SRP currently covers at least 241 items, as defined by their inventory identification number, or stock keeping unit (SKU).
The DTI also expanded its price monitoring to 600 businesses from 400 previously in the National Capital Regional and an additional 500 outlets elsewhere in the country. — Janina C. Lim
INFLATION in health care costs will remain in the double digits in 2018, driven by non-communicable diseases, an international employee benefits firm said.
According to the 2018 Medical Trends Around the World survey conducted by Mercer Marsh Benefits, health care inflation in the Philippines based on the cost of private health care plans is expected to hit 13.1% this year.
If the forecast pans out, the Philippine rate will run ahead of the 9.1% global estimate and will be well ahead of the 4.9% inflation forecast by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for 2018.
It will also outpace the 2017 rate of 12.4%.
The study, conducted among 225 insurers across 62 countries, attributed the rise in costs to the “increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases” such as cancer, stroke, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and kidney disease.
Teng E. Alday, Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Philippines, Inc. said the increase in chronic non-communicable diseases in the country may become a “big economic hurdle.”
“The upwardly-mobile young population has been one of our country’s key economic drivers. However, if more of them are getting sick, their long-term treatments will be a financial burden both the private and public sectors have to bear,” Ms. Alday, who is also the Health Business Leader of Marsh Philippines, Inc., was quoted as saying in the statement.
Workplace or personal-related stress or pressure were also cited as another trend driving health care inflation.
She advised employers to promote healthy lifestyles including addressing mental health.
“Traditional medical insurance designs are mainly based on receiving crisis treatment in a clinic or hospital setting while seldom involve the principle of encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Adding the preventive elements into the design will help lower the employee health care cost.” — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
